colliehound

THank you - will give that a try.

Hi Hardy's Angel Apologies if I offended you with my post. I guess I left a lot of details out - for the sake of brevity. In this case there are signs warning people, the cattle are in the yard and can be seen from the road. Things are very different in very rural areas. I would NEVER advocate this in mini rural or suburbia. TOtally different kettle of cow. You are going to hear this bull coming from acres and acres away - plenty of time to get out of the tree and over the fence. I guess my post was a little tongue in cheek. Of course you can't "set" your animals (or your rifle for that matter) on people, but out here if you are dumb enough to enter someone else's property, you are lucky to get away with a bite or a scratch. It is well known many farmers will shoot first, ask questions later. I will be more careful in future - by being a bit more detailed and less frivolous in my posts. THanks for pointing it out to me Colliehound I think most people (and the law) would not be okay with that. Setting an animal to attack someone, regardless of species, is a stupid and dangerous thing to do. The human could get hurt, the animal could get hurt and in the case of a bull.. a person could very easily be killed. If someone was killed that way, "They were stealing my nuts" is not going to be much of a defence.

Does anyone live near Bega? I want to buy a horse float from someone who lives there. I am in QLD. I need someone to go and take some close up photos and e-mail to me? Happy to pay you for your trouble. You don't need to know anything about floats. Great if you do. Just able to take reasonable photos and e-mail. Many thanks Colliehound PS - please PM me if you can help.

It is threads like this that remind me why we moved to really rural. Poor Elz. You handled yourself very well. I am sure it would have been tempting to grab said kid by ear and march him home. For those who remember how it "used" to be - come and live out in rural areas - it still is like that. Our local "copper" is known for giving certain rat bag kids a "kick up the arse" before sending them home. We have an older couple down the road with lots of Macadamia trees. They regularly get people jumping the fence nearest the road (usually tourists) to nick the nuts. The man of the house lets the bull out, opens a beer and sits back and watches. Bloody hilarious apparently. Why is it ok to let your "livestock" do what nature does, but not our dogs? Anyway - just wanted to add my support to you. Hope your neighbours move soon.

Hi Christina Please PM me about your QLD friends (what breed of dogs) and how many - I may be able to assist. Colliehound[ quote name=Christina' timestamp='1328787190' post='5716522] A few years ago I went to look at 7 kennels in SA & every single one took me through the kennel areas. I have never heard of any that refused to let people look at the kennels. By appointment only is natural as they have cleaning & chores to be done but I don't know anyone who has had to leave their dog in kennels that they have never seen. Please pm me the kennel name & Lavendergirl too as I have people in Queensland looking for a good kennel to use twice a year on a regular basis & I will tell them to avoid these 2 places.

This! Even a bull type breed mid attack, stopped when I went stark raving crazy one afternoon. They do respect a lot of yelling, shouting, domineering stance and the threat to beat the living daylights out of them. Not my proudest moment - but did stop the attack.................

I went last time here in Brisbane. While he is terrific and it was very interesting - it was the completely and utterly ignorant dog people that made me want to scream. Questions from the audience session was painful as people said things like "OMG love your books, seen all your DVD's" and then proceeded to ask a question that would have been FUNDAMENTAL to his teaching. If he could have "experienced dog people audiences" and "pet dog people audiences" - I think we would all have gained more from it. We had a lady at ours whose dog was scared of basket balls (never mind she threw the dog at the ball and said "see")hmmmmmmm Anyway - he had barely finished demonstrating how to desensitise the dog when the next person says - my dogs hates ping pong balls - what can I do?? :rolleyes: Are people really that incapable of taking a theory and applying it to similar circumstances - or am I too hard?? Anyway - to answer your original question - yes - if you are a massive fan - gotta go once - but not something I would do again. Colliehound

Millie the goat giving Tinker the llama a neck scratch

Will your dog live inside with the family? If not - cross off Collies Can you up the walking to a 5km+ walk daily? If not - cross off Collies Can you dedicate approx 15 mins per day per dog for grooming and an hour on weekends? If not - cross off Collies Are your children gentle and respectful of the dog/s? If not - cross off Collies. I grew up with Collies and you will find they warn with a growl if the child is rough - but will nip if the child doesn't listen. They make great babysitters, but will "force" the child to do as they are told (eg come away from the road, stay where mum said to etc). Do you have other pets? Some breeds are better with fowl, feline and rodents than others. What is your fencing like? How tall? How secure? Some breeds are houdini - some prefer to stay home. I would still consider Greyhounds if you can fence your yard and commit to always walking on lead. They are polite, past puppy stage, gentle with kids, cope with irregular and short walks, don't shed terribly much, don't smell, only require a quick once over groom weekly. Good luck in your decision, but as someone else said - first narrow down the basics like fencing, indoors/out, grooming time, walking time, size, fur factor etc.

Thank you - agreed. if they are checked hourly or more - I can live with it. But otherwise i am sure I can do a better job - no worse than "no one" anyway - surely? So why the obsession with "they must stay overnight"? Can anyone help me understand?

I have a question re keeping dogs/cats in the vets overnight. As you all know, we live very rural. The surgery closes at 5pm and doesn't re open until 8am the next morning. Whilst there is a vet on call overnight - he/she may not drop in more than once (if that) over that period - depending on what else they get called out to during the evening. Now I know that in 95% of cases - due to the home environment - that pets are actually better off at the vets. Particularly while they are on an IV or similar. However can anyone tell me why it is "safer" to leave my dog at the vets - unattended - unmonitored - than being at home - in a specially built isolation unit, with 24/7 care (and I mean watching every second) and I have most of a cert IV vet nursing. Now my local vets are fantastic and almost always let me take the animals home - even immediately post surgery etc. I can do fluids and so on and they are pretty flexible. BUT when I talk to city vets about it - they almost have a total melt down, tell me how irresponsible it is etc etc. Is it about insurance?? Or are they just not listening about how different it is 'out bush'? Or do we pet owners all get lumped into the same basket regardless of training / background / experience? Just curious - not blaming anyone - just interested in opinions and any actual reasons that might exist?? Thanks

Love it - more pics please.

Sigghhhh. Yep - new job and first three people i talk to have designer duds. One is a dacshund (sp?) cross shitzu - only 10 months old - already had surgery on teeth, jaw, back, etc. Um - wonder why.............. Haven't said anything yet - but will work on it. Have photos of my dogs up - looking the picture of health...........slowly slowly.......

Another advocate for Preventix collars here. In the worst part of the season I also use either Permoxin spray every couple of days - or Plush Puppy tick and flea rinse as a spray. so far so good..................

This is a major shot in the dark............but you don't know till you ask....... Will anyone be travelling from ACT (or within a few hours drive) to QLD (Toowoomba, Gatton, Ipswich, Brisbane, Gold Coast) or a few hours either way) with an empty horse float in tow? I need to get three llamas (mum and two babies) from Canberra to Brisbane in the next couple of weeks. Because the babies are so young, we really don't want to put them on a commercial truck. Willing to remunerate you for your trouble if you are going that way anyway. Someone experienced in llama will load at one end and I will unload at the other. All you need to do is drive. We will ensure they have enough water and feed for the trip. If you stop overnight - they are fine to stay in the trailer. Just thought I would chuck it out there just in case. Thanks Dol'ers Colliehound

This!! And people then wonder why some breeders do home visits and inquisitions to see if you are a suitable, realistic, prepared owner....... E-mail the breeder if she can't "talk" to her. good heavens.

I have not owned Whippets, but have two Greyhounds. I have to put in a vote for the Greys. My two were from an adoption program. Greys have got to be among the easiest dogs you will ever own. For the most part - don't dig, don't bark, don't smell, don't shed (not like a Collie, Shepherd, Labrador anyway). They require absoloutly minimal brushing (a quick once over with a horse block) and as said previously only get washed as a treat when i am washing the rest of the team. Mine are atrocious food thieves but I am not sure that is specific to the breed. If you find an ex racer they are so used to be being walked, handled etc they tend to tolerate children very well. I would think the larger size of the Greys can be a tremendous thing for children as they are unlikely to trip over them, step on them and they are just that little bit hardier for the occasional rough play. Also - they have the potential to look "intimidating enough" should the kids like to start walking to the shops by themselve or similar. I never feel scared walking my pack. Probably the only pain in having an ex racer greyhound is NEVER being able to take them off lead - eg down the beach or in the park. Thier recall can be too hit and miss to take that chance, plus they can be literally "gone in seconds" if they set thier mind to it. So if your set up would allow kids (or grown ups) to occasionally forget to latch a door or a gate - you may need to consider this point. Good on you for doing your research. I hope it all works out well for you. Which town are you in? Colliehound

Hi Mytwoesties and Ludwig09 - me too. My job got so bad i chose to walk away. Have been home for four weeks and not even close to bored. I am loving the fresh air, time to eat and spending all day with my dogs and other animals. They all make much more sense than the people I have worked with in the last few years Ha ha. Can I share lotto with you? I don't want to go back either. Colliehound

Definately consider the GAP dogs. Many are still pups - so don't let that put you off. Just remember that with a Grey, you will have a BIG lap dog and will never do anything on your own again. (including a shower). He is my study buddy.............hmmm

How you do cope with a dog who is always in "drive" - aarrgghh - I couldn't cope. Give me a Collie who will join me for cocktails at sunset, but equally love a race up the beach. (you are probably thinking ha ha - at least I don't live in a fur storm ha ha). TSD seeing a video of little Em was what made me first look seriously into the breed Simply amazing dogs and I can't wait to have one You will have fun! But it will be a shock to the system....they wake up "in drive" You will need to put a little more training into the "off switch"....oh, and they seem to think they are lap dogs :D

If you want a best mate, who can have great conversations with you - who will guard you with thier life, but does need you to love grooming - you can't go past a Collie Rough. They will go everywhere you do (with impeccable manners). They help around the house (ours can weed, tidy up, put the chooks to bed etc). They have better time keeping than a Rolex and will keep you on schedule every minute of the day. (You had better really really like a regimented schedule). They will even keep you warm at night better than any hot water bottle. They will also ensure you don't miss your fitness program. They don't accept any excuses (too tired, hot, windy, wet, cold, etc). My best mates in the world. I also love my greyhounds. They are "velcro dogs" attached to your leg at all times. They also love nothing better than lying on/with you - on the sofa, on the bed, on the floor................ They are terrific "pig out" mates - helping you dispose of any trace of snack foods, ice cream, crumbs, you name it. They are also good for keeping wildlife out of your vegetables and fruit paddocks. Eternally grateful to you for rescuing them - they make you feel like the best person in the world every day. My next breed (as well as Collies and Grey's - not instead of) will be Samoyeds. I hear they are almost a Collie / Grey mix. Love exercise, but love being inside with you watching TV. Love protecting the home, but gentle with other animals who belong here. Have a terrific sense of humour and can enjoy a good laugh. I can't wait. Colliehound

Toooooo Cute!!

Oh my - you poor thing. I had something almost identical happen to me. I was walking my boy - I had only just had stitches removed from my leg and it was very tender. A bull breed jumped out of the window of a ute. I was with my husband and asked him to grab it as it headed for us - hackles up. He got it but it wrestled away - all before the owner came and got it. It headed straight for my dog. I put my leg in the way so it couldn't bite him. It bit my leg instead and tore open the stitches area. Well that was it - I LOST IT. Even my husband said he had never heard language like it. The attacking dog, the owner and my husband all just stood there dumbfounded. I then went to attack his dog - you have never seen anyone grab thier dog and nick off so quickly. I now understand when people say "temporary insanity". Apparently I went absoloutly ballistic. (as you do). We reported him and eventually the dog was put down - not my preference at all. However he was fined thousands. So a suitable outcome at the end of the day. It could have been a child or elderly person who could not have faught back so much. Today we had several stray dogs approach me while out walking our dogs - I am now so on the offensive most of the dogs just back off. Good idea!! Hugs to you. Take it easy and your confidence will come back - but you will always be wary!

Hi PME That is interesting, so each state seems to be run it's own way.......hmmmm I am in QLD. Did you feel you were treated well as an employee? What would you have changed? Thanks Colliehound

Thank you - you mention change.......... Would that be things like - move to work life balance, training of managers, strong rules/regs applied equally that sort of thing? thanks Colliehound